We recently connected with Márcia Baptista and have shared our conversation below.

Márcia , appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I learned to paint through practice and great mentors/peers. I am very grateful to know and have been around such an amazing group of artists.

Knowing what I know now, being less afraid could have sped up my learning process. I have a small note written by one of my professors taped to my easel that reads “Cure for fear = action” as a reminder to myself.

I learned to plan, execute, explore, experiment, and most importantly persevere through doubt. These were all essential skills that have helped me continue my practice.

The obstacle that has stood in the way of learning and growing as an artist has been myself. I can only learn if I allow myself to fail.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have always enjoyed the process of creating things. I became interested in art as a kid, but only began to take it seriously later in life. I drew what I could, whenever I could, with whatever I had. In a world of change, art has been my one constant.

In my work, I take from the concept of ‘household,’ playing with environments and structures surrounding it. I try to capture the feeling of a room, or the emotions lingering within it. I enjoy building an atmosphere and conveying vague but familiar moments in time.

I am most proud of the far-away feeling in my paintings. The implied distance, paired with a neutral palette, brings out a sense of nostalgia, which is a big part of my work. I want to create a bittersweet familiarity—something common, yet often left unsaid.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Being curious about art could help support artists. ] think the serious culture around art makes it seem inaccessible. Art is everywhere and is for everyone.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I used to believe that creating something that wasn’t good was creating waste. This prevented me from taking risks and disrupted my ability to execute projects and ideas.

I developed this belief in an environment where it felt like everything I made was never good enough. I lost myself creating things to get the validation that I was doing something right. It made me feel like my attempts at creating were wasted. It was a cynical way of being and almost made me give up on art. Now, I focus on having fun and enjoying things for what they are and not what they could be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.artofmarcia.com
• Instagram: artofmarcia
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcia-baptista